Family & Community Students & Families Student and Secondary Support
Dropout Reduction:
Prevention, Intervention, and Recovery

State Dropout Reduction Activities

Secondary School Services unit

There are no state funds currently available for general dropout reduction use, however, the Department's Secondary School Services unit coordinates a number of grant programs that support student engagement and success in partnership with districts, community colleges, and other organizations to help students succeed in school and be prepared for higher education, rewarding employment, and responsible citizenship. All of these programs can be a useful part of a district's comprehensive strategy to raise graduation rates and students' readiness for college and employment.

Dropout Prevention and Recovery Work Group

In summer 2008, the Department created a Dropout Prevention and Recovery Work Group, which 17 urban districts volunteered to be part of in partnership with the Department - the Office of Urban and Commissioner's Districts and the Office of Secondary School Services - and the New England Comprehensive Center. Students dropping out of these 17 districts account for nearly half of the Commonwealth's annual dropouts. The purpose of this Work Group is intended to facilitate sharing of promising practices among districts and support for district team action planning activities.

The participating districts are Boston, Brockton, Chelsea, Everett, Fall River, Fitchburg, Haverhill, Holyoke, Lawrence, Leominster, Lowell, Lynn, New Bedford, Pittsfield, Somerville, Springfield and Worcester.

Early Warning Indicator Index Pilot

The Department is in the process of piloting an Early Warning Indicator Index (EWII) in urban districts to help identify students as early as grade nine who may be at-risk for not graduating on time. In the spring of 2008 the Department used data from the Student Information Management System (SIMS) to identify four indicators that best predict a student's likelihood of not graduating on time. The indicators are a student's:

1. grade 8 attendance rate
2. grade 8 MCAS mathematics score
3. grade 8 MCAS ELA score
4. incidence of mobility (moving in/out of a district or school one or more times) in grades 7 and/or 8

In October 2008, Department staff prepared incoming ninth grade student rosters for 24 urban school districts. The rosters list students in five risk categories that range from a very high risk to low risk of not graduating within four years. Districts have used the EWII for a variety of purposes including establishing a student buddy system, early support service interventions, and family home visits. The Department is preparing to send out a survey this spring to further ascertain how the index is being used, whether changes in the format need to be made, and if school district staff members need technical assistance to use the data. If the pilot is successful, the Department can expand the EWII to all high schools in the Commonwealth.

Graduation and Dropout Prevention and Recovery Commission

In August 2008 the Massachusetts State Legislature passed An Act to Improve Dropout Prevention and Reporting of Graduation Rates, which established a Commission to make recommendation on 10 topic areas. The Commission included representatives from a variety of youth-serving state agencies, the state legislature, and community organizations. The Commission work was also shaped by testimony at three public hearings. The Executive Office of Education released the final Commission report in October 2009. The Commission report, Making the Connection , provides findings and recommendations in four main areas: 1) new statewide expectations; 2) early identification; 3) effective prevention, interventions, and recovery; and 4) responsive reforms and budget priorities.

Strengthening the Field of Alternative Education

Alternative Education pathways to high school graduation are universally acknowledged pillars of a viable and effective response to the dropout crisis The Department is working to enhance the field of Alternative Education across the Commonwealth through annual trainings, including regional networking events and state conferences. The Department recently released an Alternative Education frequently asked questions and promising practices document, and continues to work toward increased sharing of promising practices across the state.

In the 2007-08 school year, the Department added an Alternative Education data element to Student Information Management System (SIMS) to increase knowledge about Alternative Education in Massachusetts through new methods. The increased capacity in SIMS will provide the Department important student-level information within each Alternative Education program/school. The Department will also use these data to increase targeted technical assistance and to promote and replicate promising practices in the Commonwealth.